There are some anti-Mormons who, when they run out of all other arguments against Mormonism, they turn to slandering Joseph Smith. The Muslims have a proverb that says: “The waters of the sea do not become unclean by the mouth of the dog.” Their slandering of Joseph Smith does not hurt him, it only hurts them. Jesus knew that His true followers would suffer such abuses at the hands of the wicked, and gave them these assurances:
Matthew 5:
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
They play part well by slandering Joseph Smith; and he also played his part well by being the great prophet of the Lord that he was, and a martyr to the cause of truth. Such folks of course have been from the beginning. Jude had this to say about such people of his day:
Jude 1:
8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
Even Jesus was called Beelzebub by His detractors; so why should Joseph Smith escape the tongue of slanderers and detractors of this generation? This is what Jesus had to say to those who called Him Beelzebub:
Matthew 12:
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Joseph Smith was no different. He was in the same situation as they were, so it is to be expected that he should receive the same treatment as they did. To him the Lord said:
D&C 122:
1 The ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name, and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell shall rage against thee;
2 While the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel, and authority, and blessings constantly from under thy hand.
In another place the Lord said to him:
D&C 121:
10 Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job.
11 And they who do charge thee with transgression, their hope shall be blasted, and their prospects shall melt away as the hoar frost melteth before the burning rays of the rising sun;
12 And also that God hath set his hand and seal to change the times and seasons, and to blind their minds, that they may not understand his marvelous workings; that he may prove them also and take them in their own craftiness;
. . .
16 Cursed are all those that shall lift up the heel against mine anointed, saith the Lord, and cry they have sinned when they have not sinned before me, saith the Lord, but have done that which was meet in mine eyes, and which I commanded them.
17 But those who cry transgression do it because they are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves.
President George A. Smith once said the following of those who slander and malign Joseph Smith:
“Many have belittled Joseph Smith, but those who have will be forgotten in the remains of mother earth, and the odor of their infamy will ever be with them, but honor, majesty, and fidelity to God, exemplified by Joseph Smith and attached to his name, will never die.” (Quoted by Harold B. Lee in “Closing Remarks,” Ensign, Jan. 1974, 125.)
LDS need not be troubled by those who slander and speak evil of against Joseph Smith. No prophet was ever harmed by the slander of wicked. Such folks have always only hurt themselves, never the prophets of God.
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